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Saturday, March 25, 2017

Prince of Peace - Peace at Home

I sat down at the computer to escape the incessant teasing, whining, bickering and murmuring that has filled my home this week. That is when I saw the announcement from mormon.org about their #PRINCEofPEACE initiative. That's what I need. That's what my home needs. I can't wait to introduce each of the eight principles to my family and watch the corresponding videos: faith, compassion, forgiveness, repentance, gratitude, God's word, prayer and hope. (Although my family, as most families, struggle with the daily peace and harmony within the home, read a post on how I received "peace of God, which passeth all understanding" during the passing of three of my children. This is a peace and understanding that permeates my home, even when small disputations threaten the quiet of my home.)

I created a peaceful home made up of pieces of each of those elements. During the Holy Week, with my kids each morning, we will take the corresponding piece, show the daily video and discuss how we will implement that value during the day. At dinner, we'll talk about what worked and how it changed the feeling in our home. As we each make a concerted effort the invite the Prince of Peace into our home and live the principles of peace, I know that our home will be a peaceful place (Although I'm sure it still won't be quiet! But happy laughter and voices are sweet music to the soul.)

I've created the Peace at Home image in both black and white and color. See the links below.

In addition to this mini lesson/activity to use during the week, I created a corresponding Prince of Peace mini Shout Out Game to help us remember each of the essential 8 principles of peace. In mini Shout Out, each card has one and only one match to every other card in the deck. (There are 4 images on each card). Players race to find their match and shout out. Whoever finds their match first, takes the card. The player with the most cards wins. Great for kids, teens and adults - a great family game.
The free Prince of Peace mini edition has 13 images: Crown (Prince), Dove (Peace), Book (God's Word), Family Praying, Heart (Compassion), Sun (Hope), U-turn (Repentance), Hug (Forgiveness), Peaceful Home, Thank You note (Gratitude), People Hugging World (World Peace), Smiley face with two fingers up (Peace Sign), and Seed (Faith)

After playing several rounds of Shout Out, I will print out and cut up the image map with each of the principles. I will place them around the house on mirrors, the refrigerator, doors, etc, as reminders of what we need to do to have a peaceful house. Plus, we'll play Shout Out on different days for a fun reminder. (Better than my nagging ... that alone should lead to more peace!)
Finally, as we feel that promised peace, we want to share it with others. Either each day, or at the end of the week, I will have each person fill out our "I feel peace when ________" form and I will encourage them to share it online on social media.

I can't wait for Holy Week to start ... actually I won't wait. We're starting tomorrow! (although, I guess I have to wait for Holy Week to watch the videos from mormon.org)

Looking for more great ideas. Lots of bloggers are sharing their ideas and resources for Holy Week. See the Red Headed Hostess or Chicken Scratch n Sniff for lots of great ideas or search the hashtag: #PrinceofPeace

About Me

As a mother of 5 kids at home, ranging from 2 years old to teen, I keep hopping as a taxi driver, teacher, consultant, personal trainer, planner, nurse and entertainer. I love being with my family, having family dinners and those choice moments and activities that bring us all together.
I created Shout Out games as similar style games were one of the few games that our whole family could play together. It truly spans the ages. I also saw so much potential in using games to learn-as-you-play. (Let's face it, I don't want to do sight words flash cards again with my two youngest. There's got to be a better way, and now there is!)
I love languages and I've studied Spanish, Russian and Korean. I am an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I love trying to make holidays special (love last minute instant printables). My kids have all needed some speech therapy. As you can tell, most of my games and inspiration come from my interactions with my family. One moment it may be preschool, the next an upcoming holiday, or some days its working on speech therapy homework. Please let me know what games you would use in your home, family, class or life.